LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

ariēs1

ariēs m (genitive arietis)
Classical[ˈa.ri.eːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈaː.ri.es]

Meaning

  1. ram, male sheep
    cum mare trux ariēs cornū dēcertat; at īdemWith [another] male, the fierce ram fights it out with his horn, but the same [ram] is careful to spare the forehead of a beloved ewe.8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.101–102
  2. battering ram
  3. beam, prop

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeariēsarietēs
genitivearietisarietum
dativearietīarietibus
accusativearietemarietēs
ablativearietearietibus
vocativeariēsarietēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

aries murum attingit, percutit
the battering-ram strikes the wall.

ărĭēs, ĭĕtis, m. (for the kindr. forms arvix and harvix, in Varr. and Fest.; v. arvix; poet. aries sometimes dissyl., like abies; hence,
I. a long, Carey, Lat. Pros. § 47: āriĕtis, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 1, 20, 45: āriĕtes, trisyl., Att. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 22, 44; so, āriĕtĕ, Verg. A. 2, 492) [some derive this from ἄρην, ἄρρην, qs. the male sheep; others compare ὁ ἔριφος, a he-goat, buck, and ὁ ἔλαφος, a stag; and arna, q. v.], a ram.
I. Lit., Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 24; 2, 2, 13; Col. 7, 2, 4; 7, 2, 5; 7, 3, 6; Vulg. Gen. 15, 9; ib. Lev. 4, 35 et persaepe.—Of the golden fleece: petebant (Argonautae) illam pellem inauratam arietis Colchis, Enn. ap. Auct. ad Her. 2, 22; Plaut. Bacch. 2, 3, 7; Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 6 al.—
II. Transf.
A. The Ram, a sign of the zodiac, Cic. Arat. 230; 244; Hyg. Fab. 133; id. Astr. 2, 20; Manil. 2, 246; Ov. M. 10, 165; Vitr. 9, 5; Plin. 18, 25, 59, § 221 al. —
B. An engine for battering down walls, a battering-ram: v. Vitr. 10, 19; Veg. 4, 14, and Smith, Dict. Antiq.: quamvis murum aries percusserit, Cic. Off. 1, 11, 35: ab ariete materia defendit, Caes. B. G. 7, 23: arietibus aliquantum muri discussit, Liv. 21, 12; so id. 31, 32; 31, 46; 32, 23; 38, 5; Vulg. Ezech. 26, 9; ib. 2 Macc. 12, 15 al.—
C. A beam for support, a prop or buttress: quae (sublicae) pro ariete subjectae vim fluminis exciperent, as a shore or prop, * Caes. B. G. 4, 17 (δίκην κριοῦ, Paraphr.); corresp. to capreolus, Caes. B. C. 2, 10 q. v.—Trop.: ex quo aries ille subicitur in vestris actionibus, Cic. Top. 17, 64.—
D. An unknown sea-monster, very dangerous to ships, Plin. 9, 44, 67, § 145; 32, 11, 53 (where two kinds of them are mentioned); cf. id. 9, 5, 4: trux aries, Claud. Nupt. Hon. et Mar. 163; cf. Aelian. H. A. 15, 2, and Oppian. Hal. 1, 372.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *ariēts ~ *eriēts (compare Umbrian 𐌄𐌓𐌉𐌄𐌕𐌖 (erietu)), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₁r-i-(e)t- (“young domesticated caprine”). Cognate with Old Irish heirp, erb (“kid”), Ancient Greek ἔριφος (ériphos, “kid”), displaying a different suffix, and perhaps Old Armenian որոջ (oroǰ, “lamb”), երինջ (erinǰ, “heifer”). However, as the cognates demonstrate, this has the characteristics of a substrate word.

Descendants
  • Romanianarete
  • Catalanariet
  • EnglishAries
  • Italianariete
  • PortugueseÁries
  • Portuguesearíete
  • Spanishariete
  • Aromanianareati
  • Champenoisaroi
  • Corsicanarghjetu

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesAriesAries (κριός), the battering-ram, was used to shake, perforate, and batter down the walls of besieged cities. (Cic. Off. 1.1. 1, 35; Caes. Gal. 7.23; …

Quick answers

What does ariēs mean in Latin?
ariēs, a noun, means “ram, male sheep; battering ram; beam, prop”.
What is the genitive of ariēs?
The genitive singular is arietis. ariēs is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce ariēs?
In classical Latin, [ˈa.ri.eːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈaː.ri.es].